5 Kitchen Surprises

Thursday, June 19, 2008

filed under: food

A coffee mug is better used as a meat mallet? Cups as rolling pins? Ordinary kitchen items are more useful than you think...

Susannah Locketti of Next Food Network Star goes green and saves money by transforming these kitchen items into useful gadgets.

	Caps Recycle and reuse caps to make inexpensive measuring spoons. The cap of a water bottle is about 1 tablespoon. The cap from vanilla extract is a great built-in teaspoon measure. If you're one for constantly washing dishes, keep a little baggie of caps on hand in case your measuring spoons are dirty.
	Mugs Mugs hold your morning coffee, but they are also a fun serving dish for pudding with whipped cream, or an ice cream sundae for the kids. Mugs work well for crushing cookies or crackers in Ziploc baggies. Get a workout and save electricity when making graham cracker crusts, or cracker toppings for seafood. Or, use a mug to pound chicken out when you can't find a meat mallet.
	Tall Cups The taller the better! Tall, sturdy plastic cups are a sweet stand-in for a rolling pin. Be sure the cup is uniform all the way around for even rolling. Dust it with flour as you would a standard rolling pin. You can also invert a cup or glass and turn it into a cookie or biscuit cutter instantly.
	Empty Jars When spices run out, strip the jar of its label and wash it. Empty jars are perfect for storing small items (like frosting tips). They're also great for storing custom blends of dried herbs from your garden or homemade bread crumbs. Use larger jars to store leftovers, or as waterproof food containers when packing the cooler for the beach.
	Spray Bottles Fill a clean spray bottle with your favorite vinegar or oil. These bottles are a great way to lightly dress a salad or mist a hot pan with oil. Spray bottles are also convenient when your kids have bed head. While they're eating their breakfast, squirt their hair with water and comb. You can also boil water with fresh lavender sprigs and make homemade scented ironing water. The spray bottles mist laundry perfectly.